#IMWeekly: November 14, 2014

International - Raid shuts down Silk Road 2.0 and 400 other sites on the dark net

A joint law enforcement operation conducted between 16 European countries and the US has arrested 17 people including Blake Benthall, alleged operator of Silk Road 2.0. The raid shut down over 400 websites running on Tor network including Silk Road 2.0, which were purportedly selling illegal items including drugs and weapons.

USA - President Obama issues statement on Net Neutrality

President Obama issued a statement weighing in on the on-going New Neutrality debate. In an announcement published by the White House, President Obama reaffirmed his commitment to Net Neutrality, and called on the FCC to “implement the strongest possible rules to protect net neutrality.” Bright line rules President Obama proposed include no blocking; no throttling; increased transparency; and no paid prioritization.

Venezuela - Draft bill on e-commerce that could be used as a tool of online censorship introduced

A new draft bill on e-commerce has been introduced that would grant the power to block websites to CONATEL, Venezuela’s National Telecommunications Commission. The draft bill creates a series of new obligations for individuals and companies conducting business by electronic means, and allows CONATEL to unilaterally block websites that do not meet the regulatory restrictions.

USA: New report reveals massive campaign contributions from major cable companies

As the debate on Net Neutrality rages on following President Obama’s announcement, Gizmodo has published a report on campaign contribution from the major cable companies Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Verizon, AT&T, and their trade group the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA). The report revealed that Democrats and Republicans received over $8 million from these four companies and NCTA in the 2014 elections alone.

#imweekly is a weekly round-up of news about Internet content controls and activity around the world. To read more, click here.